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Physics...physicist by association.
I remember when I was six or seven I asked my dad what molecules were made of, and he told me they were made of atoms. I asked what atoms were made of, and he said, 'well, they think they're made up of things called quarks'. But he didn't know. As far as I recall he did not even mention electrons and neutrons, though I admit I might not have remembered if he had. And when you're that age, something even an adult doesn't know is a real mystery. So maybe that's how I got interested in physics. I've always wanted to know how things work at the lowest level.
Nonetheless, I didn't study physics at university, because I was only interested in theoretical particle physics, and not all the boring rolling-things-down-ramps practical stuff that had to be done in the prerequisite first-year papers. I got a degree in mathematics instead.
I've read books and websites about particle physics since I was in my teens. The interest waxed and waned, until one day, armed with my first credit card, I realised that there was a world of physics books out there on Amazon.com which I could never dream of finding locally. So I ordered Quarks, Leptons, and the Big Bang. Wow. I'd read plenty about particle physics before then, but I think it was only after reading that book that I really felt like I understood it. That really got me interested again.
This was back in March 2003, when I was just starting to plan my trip around the world in mid-2004. At that time, it wasn't a trip around the world, but just a trip to San Francisco for the Worldwide Developers Conference. Soon enough, though, it became clear that I'd stay with a friend in Germany for a few weeks 'on the way back'. And it occurred to me that while I was 'in the area', perhaps I could go to Geneva and maybe, somehow, get a look around CERN.
So I had a look at the CERN website. Wow. Not only can any old schmo off the street book a guided tour, or visit their various exhibitions without appointment, there's also a summer student programme, fellowships, and various other opportunities for employment. Most of them are only open to nationals of CERN Member States. Luckily my dad is British, so as soon as I found out about these programs I sent him an email asking for the documents I'd need to get myself a British passport. I then set about filling in an application to be a summer student, and set about downloading videos of previous lectures. I was still on dialup back then, so mostly that happened while I was at my sister's place.
Eventually I realised that, not being an undergraduate, I was not eligible to be a summer student. So I went for the next opportunity up... a fellowship. A real long shot, but I figured it would be fun to apply anyway, and I could keep applying until I reached the age limit. Perhaps they'd get sick of me applying and give me a job as a telephone sanitiser. While I was still waiting for the verdict, my application was copied to the Marie Curie Early Stage Training programme which CERN had just begun to participate in, because it seemed to fit my profile.
By the time I left to go around the world, I knew that I had not been selected for a fellowship, but I still did not know what had happened about the Marie Curie one. I booked a guided tour (three months in advance, and I was still lucky to get a place) and a week in a hostel in Geneva. I visited Microcosm and went on a tour, where I saw the ATLAS experiment being built. This happened to be on CERN's 50th anniversary, which they celebrated by lighting up the LHC ring with spotlights above ground. The event was open to the public, and I managed to get a lift to Crozet to see it, and eat some of the delicious 50th birthday cake. I didn't understand a word of what anyone was saying, it was all in French. The lights were disappointing too... I think there were only about five spotlights, distributed unevenly around the ring. While as a mathematician I recognise that only three points are necessary to uniquely describe a circle, as a spectator I was somewhat disappointed. The cake was good though. While there was nobody behind the podium I got somebody to take a picture of me pretending to be a CERN staffmember. . Unfortunately I missed the CERN Open Day by about eleven days... if I'd known about it back when I booked my flights, I'd have stayed longer.
I met some people there, who gave me contact details of some other people, so a couple of days later I ended up visiting the CERN computer centre and having a coffee in the CERN cafeteria, talking to a staff member about ways other than a fellowship to get involved with CERN. I was told that fellowships are very difficult to get, and I'd be better off getting involved with the Grid with an organisation in New Zealand. Not long before or after after that I found out that I didn't get the Marie Curie fellowship.
So I went home, searched in vain for something grid-related in New Zealand (we just don't have the bandwidth for it, unfortunately) and applied for another fellowship. Well, at least, I tried to apply for another fellowship, but the otherwise-excellent CERN e-Recruitment site erroneously said I'd already applied and would not let me apply again. I had applied, but not for that exact position in that year... apparently the old Marie Curie fellowship and the new Marie Curie fellowship had the same ID in the database. I emailed them about it, and all they could do was copy my old application over. By that time the information in my application was a year out-of-date, and I'd filled it out with an ordinary CERN fellowship in mind rather than a Marie Curie one, so it didn't seem likely that it would work. As a backup plan I applied to do a postgraduate physics course at university, since I had been assured that my mathematics background was enough for it.
On February 2, 2006, while I was in Sydney visiting Chris and attending the Tiger Tech Talks, I got some great news. Apple had released new PowerBooks... just in time for me to get one before my Apple Developer Connection hardware discount expired. Then I got back to Chris's place and checked my email, to find out that I had been selected for the Marie Curie fellowship. What a day!
So I bought a shiny new PowerBook, packed all my favourite books into two 32kg suitcases, a 7kg backpack, and a large unweighed coat with huge pockets (hint: If you're moving from one side of the world to the other, go via the USA like I did... you get a larger baggage allowance), sold, gave away, or left in a heap on my bedroom floor everything else, and moved to Geneva.
Some time between being accepted and actually moving, I got a letter saying I could not do the postgrad physics course because I did not have the requisite physics background. Never mind, I was going to work for the biggest physics lab in the world! It was fun telling them that. So now I work at CERN as a programmer. My fellowship is finished now, but I'm still there, working for ETH Zurich. When I'm not too busy, I can go to summer student lectures for real, or other lectures by Nobel prizewinners, übergeeks, and even authors. It's awesome. You should try it. Really. I'm sure there are many people out there who would be better at this job than I am, but they didn't apply because they didn't think they had a chance at getting selected.This page has been accessed  times since 2024-04-24 03:07:23 Last updated: 2007-09-08 12:33:33
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